Toaster



April 9, 1929.

W. L. PROSS, JR

TOASTER .Filed Sept. 27. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WIN/am L; Pross Jr.

ATTORNEYS.

April 9, 1929. w. L. PRoss, JR

TOASTER Filed Sept. 27, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Will/am L.. Pross Jr A TORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 9, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM PROSS, 33., OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR '1'0 WILLIAM L. P3088,

O! DANTBUBY, CONNECTICUT.

Application filed September 27, 1827. Serial No. 222,254.

My invention rela es to toasters and an important object of t e present invention is to provide a toaster eificient and economical in operation and of such simplicity of structure as to admit of ready and economical manufacture. f

' Other objects of the invention relate to the provision of a toaster in which the articles to be toasted, such as slices of bread, are

fed through the apparatus by suitable conveying means; a toaster in which the heating of the heating elements is startedby insertion of the material to be toasted; a toaster having conveying means for the material to be toasted and means for driving or stopping said conveyer in accordance with the presence or absence of the toaster of material to be toasted; a toaster having heating means,

a conveyer for carrying t e material past said heating means and means to vary the toasting action; a toaster having a conveyer for carrying slices of bread or the hke past heating means and a casing having insertion openings at different positions along the 5 conveyer so that the length of path travelled by the bread in passing the heating means may be varied to'vary .the toasting eifect thereon a toaster having a conveyer operated by an electric motor, electrical heating 0 means past which the material to be toasted is carried by said conveyer and connected in parallel with said motor andmeans for varying the'current through said motor and said heating means to re late the toasting effect; and a toaster having a conveyer for carryingbreadpast the heating means and a casing-having portions through which the.

- conveyerbelt is provided at suitable interbread may be observed. Other objectsandadvantages w1ll heremafter appear. 5 f

In the drawings which show, for illustrativepurposes only, a preferred form of the invention-- Fig. 1 is an isometric view illustrating the illustrative embodiment of the invention as seen from the front;

Fig. 2 is a diagram illustratin the electric system and the manner of c osin the circuit through the heating units an the motor;

7 Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the structure shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a section on the l' e 44.of Fig. 3.; and

having a Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view on an em en lvals along the edges of the conveyer belt 5.

The cage 7 at the outlet end of the toaster is mounted on a shaft 10 which is driven by means of a worm gear 11 mounted thereon and meshing with a worm 12 carried by a shaft 13 of an electric motor M.

The actual heating or toasting of the bread or other material is effected by heatlng elements 15 arranged at opposite sides of the path of the articles to be toasted and consisting of wires 16 extending back and forth longitudinally of the toaster and of suflicient resistance to produce a required heating effect. As' seen in Fig. 2 the heatmg elements 15 are in series with each other and in parallel with the motor M, and one wire 16 of the circuit through the motor and the heatin elements 15 is electrically connected wit the conveyer belt 5, which is of conductive material, preferably through the shaft 17 on which the ri ht-hand cage or gear 6 is fixed and through which the electric connection with the conveyer belt 5 is made.

As seen most clearly in Figs. 3 and 5, the

vals with contact members 18 transversely pivoted thereto at the leading edges of 0 enings 19 in the belt. At the o posite e ges of the gpenings 19 are ivote members 20 aps 21 arranged to be positioned at the outer sideof the conveyer belt 5 and heavy hook portions 22 at. the inside of the 10. belt including shoulders to enga e the members or flaps 18 and hold them a ove a plane conductor member 23 positioned between the upper and lower reaches of the conveyer belt 5. During the operation of the device, the 106 members 18 and 20 are, throughout theirtravel along the path of the lower reach of the belt, in their inefiective positions (Fig.

but whenthey pass upwardly around the cage or gear 6, each contact member 18 110 may be supported, for example, by engagereleased and drops into engagement with,

the conductor 23 which, while supported by the frame by means including a bracket 24 is insulated therefrom by insulating material 24, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and is connected to the other side of the control circuit. s soon as one of thecontact members 18 engages with the member 23, the circuit through the motor M and the resistance elements 15 is completed and the conveyer belt 5 is driven to feed the toast through the casing 1 while being toasted by the elements 15 and along the curved outlet or chute 25. In order that the condition at the interior of the toaster and the condition of the bread or other material in the toaster may be observed as it passes therethrough, there are provided in the front wall of the toaster windows 26 of glass or other suitable material. Preferably the casing is made of aluminum although, ofcourse, any-other v suitable material may be used.

When the toaster is used'continuously the parts become quite hot and, if the guides illustrated clearly in Fig. 3..

4 extended in straight lines longitudinally of the casing, the toast'where brought into contact therewith would be marked by straight lines of browned or burned material. To avoid such marking, members 4 are shaped so as to extend along lines other than straight lines passing from one end of the toaster tothe other, suchguide members being preferably wavy as It should be noted hat the spaced therealong makes it possible'to vary the time during which the slices of bread are subjected to the heat of the heating units. For example,

top of the, casing and a slice placed in the right hand hopper Fig.

' '3 will take longer to pass through the toaster the first hopper,

than a slice placed in the second hopper and will therefore be subjected to heat longer. Thus in starting to use the toasterwhen cold] it might be necessary to insert the bread at whereas afterv the toaster becomes heated '1; might be desirable 'to insert the bread at the second hopper. The deee of browning the toast at any time might also be regulated by inserting the the guide.

rovis ion of 'a. plurality of hoppers or openings2 at the ing elements,

' heating bread in another hopper than the one previously used. The toasting effect may also be varied by means such as a rheostat or adjustable resistance B (Fig. 2) preferably in the motor branch of the circuit. lVhen greater heating is required, the motor may be slowed down by increasing the resistance in that portion of the circuit containing the heating elemotor, the current through the The toasting ments 15 remaining the same.

effect may also be decreased by decreasing the resistance through R, thus increasing the speed of the motor the current through element 15 remaining the same.

It should be understood that various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the true spirit and scope vention.

I claim:

1. In atoaster, means for feeding slicesof material through said toaster, and means actuated by insertion of a slice into said toaster for starting said feeding means.

2.- In a toaster, means for feeding slices edgewise through said toaster, and means actuated by insertion of a slice into said of the in-.

toaster for starting said feeding means and V adapted to stop the feedingmeans when the toaster is emptied. 3. In a toaster,

means actuated by insertion of such slices for rendering said heating devicesefiective thereon.

4. In atoaster, electrieall "o erable means for conveying slices of rea to be toasted through said toaster, and 'circuit closing means operable by insertion of such current-through the circuit of said motor operated means and through said heating means. i

6. In a toaster for bread and the like heating elements .between which the bread is toasted, means including a conveyer belt to carry bread between and past said heata motor for driving said con veyer belt', and closing means for the circuit of said motor operable by (placing a piece of bread to be toasted on sai conveyer belt.

7. A toaster including aconveyerbelt to advances slices of bread placed on edge thereon and extending longitudinally thereof,

means ast whic the slices of bread are carried by t e conveyor, and a casing enclosing sa' having insertion'openings arranged at mtervals along the'top of the casing to enable heating devices to toast 1 opposite sides of slices to be toasted, and

dconveyer and heating means and variation of the distance travelled through the toaster by slices being toasted. i

8. A toaster includinga conveyer belt to advance slices of bread placed on edge thereenclosing sai on and extending longitudinally thereof, heating means past which the slices of bread are carried b the conveyor, and a casing conveyer and heating means and having insertion openings arranged at intervals along the top of the casing to en-' able variation of the: distance ,travelled through the toaster by slices being toasted and observation windows at the side.

9. In a toaster, means for advancing edgewise fiat slices of bread to be toasted, heating means between which said slices are .moved by said, advancing means, guiding members 1n planes at opposite sides of the thereon, electric heating elements at opposite sides oi? the path of the bread on the conveyer, a motor for operating said conveyer,

and circuit closin means for controlling said-motor and said heating elements including a conductor between the reaches of said conveyer belt, contact elements pivoted at their forward edges at the inner face of said belt so that they may rest on said conductor and maintain the circuit closed condition until drawn off the end of said conductor, latching devices for holding said pivoted contact elements in ineflective position over said conductor but adapted to be released by placing a slice of bread on the conveyer at that point and means to restore said cont act elements to control by said latching devices as they pass from the lower to the upper reach of the belt.

11. A toaster including a conveyer belt to carry through the toaster slices of bread placedonedge on saidbelt and extending longitudinally thereof, heating means past which the slices of bread are carried by the conveyer, and a casing'enclosing said conveyer and heating means and having provisions whereby the toasting effect on said slices may be varied.

WILLIAM L. PROSS, JR. 1 

